Unlikely Friends
by dankou
Summary: After the war they all return for their eighth year including the former Death Eater and bully Draco Malfoy. One small act of forgiveness begins to change Draco and he ends up making some unlikely friends...
1. Hogwarts Express

CHAPTER ONE

Hogwarts Express

September 1st at eleven o'clock sharp the whistle shrieked to signal the departure of Hogwarts Express from platform 9¼ of King's Cross Station to Hogsmead Station far north so that young witches and wizards could start a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Earlier that very year the historic events of the Second Wizarding War and the fateful battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort took place thus deciding the future of generations to come. Upon Voldemort's timely defeat, the Wizarding World entered a new era of peace. Witches and wizards came together restore Hogwarts to it's former glory along with the homes of many after the devastation and destruction of the war. Although there was still a lot of work to do and some places remained unfinished in their reconstruction, Hogwarts was deemed fit to reopen for the start of the new year.

The students hung out of the windows waving goodbye to their parents and carers as the train departed from the station. Once the platform had disappeared in the distance they sat down in excitement to discuss what great new things they were going to learn this year. Amongst the buzz of the new first year students and the clacking of the wheels against the rails there was one compartment of the train that remained silent. In that compartment sat only one tall, pale boy who slouched against the window with his face cupped in his hand and watched the scenery change constantly as they passed by. This boy was Draco Malfoy.

All of Harry Potter's year group were offered the opportunity to redo their last year of school due to the rather unfortunate circumstances in order to sit their _Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests_ , otherwise known as NEWTs, by the courtesy of Minerva McGonagall who was new headmistress of Hogwarts School.

Draco had already received some puzzled and otherwise quite unpleasant looks upon boarding the train. But he chose not to dwell on it too much. By most people's standards he was a traitor. He had been a part of Voldemort's inner circle, after all, even bearing the Dark Mark on his left forearm. Draco had made the decision for himself to return for his eighth year with the sole intention of getting his grades. He had missed his entire seventh year completely, however he decided to use this opportunity to do well despite not knowing where he was going to go from this point. Draco knew this year wasn't going to be easy especially as half of his friends either chose not to return or were killed during the war, and the other half kept their distance from him knowing it would be 'social suicide' if they were seen being friendly with him. This left him all in his lonesome - though it was nothing he wasn't used to after these past two years. At least he had the opportunity to think and daydream for a while without being disturbed.

At least, that's what he thought.

Clack. He heard the door handle turn and slide open. Draco's body jolted slightly in surprise and swung his head over to face the doorway to the compartment. There stood a fair haired girl whose chaotic curls lounged over her shoulders and wore oddly coloured purple overalls with a t-shirt underneath that was a faded shade of blue. Draco knew exactly who she was - _Loony Luna Lovegood_. What was _she_ doing here? His face dropped as he returned to his original position of looking out the window hoping she would get the hint and leave him alone. Draco wasn't much for starting drama nowadays.

"I see you've decided to stay on for another year too," she spoke softly as she closed the door behind her and sat down. Draco didn't answer. There was an awkward silence.  
"Lovely day, isn't it? The air feels so much fresher now that the worst is over, don't you think?" she continued. No part of Draco's body moved apart from his eyes that glanced at her disapprovingly then back out the window. He hoped that if he ignored her long enough that she'd just bore herself to tears and go away. There was another awkward silence longer than the last. Draco could hear the rustling of Luna rummaging through her pockets but he continued to pay no attention. She had pulled out a peculiar looking chocolate. It appeared to have pink and yellow uneven dots and a matching brightly coloured wrapper to go with it. She extended her hand forward with a smile and continued in her efforts to make conversation.  
"I bought these down at Diagon Alley before coming to the platform. They're quite strange, really. I heard if you eat it it will repel alp-luachra from crawling down your mouth when you sleep. Though I doubt you'll be sleeping next to a stream any time soon. Do you want to try a piece?" Draco squinted his eyes in disgust.  
"No. I do not." he mumbled, feeling ever growingly more disgruntled.  
"That's okay, " she said positively before taking a bite herself. Her lips wrinkled slightly as though she had just eaten an incredibly sour grape. "It's very salty," she stated.

Draco's patience was wearing very thin now. _What was her deal? Why couldn't she just keep her distance and leave him in peace like everybody else?_ It seemed Luna wasn't going to leave any time soon. It was as though she could talk at him about useless things for hours.  
"What is your motive?" he snarled shifting to sit up straight and face her, "You have no business talking to me." Luna seemed unfazed by his tone.  
"You looked very lonely sat in here by yourself. I thought you would like some company-"  
"I do not need company." Draco responded sharply.  
"Don't be silly," she dismissed, "Everybody needs company now and then."

Draco found himself becoming irritable but he couldn't shake the confusion of her attitude towards him. _Was she set up to this for a laugh? No, that couldn't be right. Loony Luna wouldn't be able to pull something like that, surely._  
"Why are you acting so … _friendly_ towards me? You haven't forgotten what happened a few months ago, did you?" During the Second Wizarding War Luna was kidnapped by Death Eaters and held hostage in the cellar of Malfoy Manor. The expression Luna presented seemed faintly more melancholy than it did moments before but her smile remained.  
"You did what you had to do for your family. It's okay, I understand." Draco's eyes widened in disbelief.  
"B...But you were held captive in my home! Why don't you hate me like everybody else does? Are you _mad?_ "  
"I wanted to hate you," she began, taking a pause before she spoke again, "Anyone else would have hated you, probably. But then I thought about how scared you looked. You were obviously not comfortable with everything that was happening. That was evident when you didn't identify Harry, as I was told, and you didn't signal Voldemort when asked." Draco's posture seemed to ease as he slumped back in his seat and bowed his head slightly, unsure what to think. He never would have imagined anyone could have forgiven him so easily. Not even he could forgive himself for what he had done. Not to mention his bad reputation as one to bully his fellow classmates. He was ashamed.

Before the boy could dwell too much on it, she spoke again - her voice slightly more cheerful then it had been.  
"And besides, it's a new start, right? I've heard people have called this the _'Golden Era'_. It's the beginning of great things! How can any of us expect to move forward if we keep dwelling on the past? It was a dark time for us all."  
"So … You aren't bothered by the fact that I was a Death Eater?" Draco asked anxiously.  
"I see a light inside you, Draco. Anyone can better themselves if they put their mind to it."

Unsure how, Draco found himself almost _happy_ at Luna's approval of him. Although, he couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of guilt. In fact, he was surprised he was even still talking her let alone in a civil manner. _Luna Lovegood._ It was no secret that she was out of the ordinary and Draco, along with many other students, would constantly taunt her calling her 'Loony Luna' for her bizarre ways. Even so, here they were talking to one another civilly. _'At least it was someone to talk to'_ , Draco told himself, resigning to his desperation for at least _someone_ to care. _'It can't be too bad, right? Even if it is Loony Luna.'_

There was another silence. Although this time it was a more comforting silence. Draco had never been too great at expressing his emotions. It was almost alien to him to express any means of thanks or apologies. He wasn't sure how. The male had spent most of his time whining and complaining and criticising absolutely everything. Plus he wasn't ever allowed to question anything outside the moral boundaries he grew up with so it was almost scary for him to voice an opinion at all as it may push those boundaries. This meant he couldn't speak to any of his friends about any of his deepest thoughts in fear of being judged or rejected. As much as Draco wanted to show Luna his appreciation and tell her he wanted to better himself, all words escaped him.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" An elderly slightly hunchbacked woman had opened the door and stood with a cart of sweets and refreshments. The woman looked very short but gave off a friendly vibe as she grinned at the duo expressing a particular fondness of the young lady. "Ah, Miss Lovegood! Nice to see you sweetheart."  
"Hello!" Luna smiled.  
"Would you like some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans today?"  
"I'd love to but I haven't any money, unfortunately."  
"I'll pay," Draco spoke eagerly. He may not be able to express his thanks through words but maybe he could gesture a thanks.  
"I don't mind not having any, Draco."  
"Are you really complaining?"  
"Not really."  
"I'll take-," Draco gestured at a large amount of sweets - specifically including a number of boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, "-those, if you please."  
"That was very kind of you, Draco" Luna smiled widely. Draco huffed and slumped back down after paying but could feel a small smile tugging at his lips.

* * *

Further down the train sat four Gryffindors: Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. They all had already changed into their robes. Apart from catching up with each other for the first few minutes of the journey, conversation seemed almost non-existent. This year wasn't like any of their previous years. There were no secrets, no scheming and definitely no threat of Lord Voldemort. They found there probably won't be much to talk about until classes start again.

"I wonder where we will all be sleeping," said Ron in a shoddy attempt to spark conversation.  
"Don't know," said Harry.  
"Gryffindor tower, I expect," Hermione responded, not taking her eyes off the abnormally large book she was reading.  
"Well you never know," Ron spoke in a subtly defensive tone, "I don't know where you've been but there was a bloody war on."  
"Well, Ronald, they wouldn't have opened up the school again if there was nowhere for the students to sleep, now, would they?" Hermione snapped, shooting Ron an irritated look.  
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Ron huffed.  
"There are no excuses this year. With no Voldemort there is no reason for us to meddle in anyone's business or put off studying! I'm trying to read this book on Arithmancy and I can't concentrate. I advise you boys do the same and start studying more."  
"She's got a point," Neville added. Ron exhaled loudly and slumped back into his chair.  
"They probably used magic anyway," Harry contributed in order to ease the tension a bit, "So we probably won't need to share a dorm with any other houses."  
"Imagine rooming with the Slytherins," Neville contemplated aloud.  
"I heard rumours that it was the only common room left untouched after the war," Ron snarled, "We all know _why._ "

Conversation died down for a few minutes. The boys sat around bored for a while.  
"I never really noticed how long this train journey was," Ron complained staring out the window.  
"Maybe we could play a card game or something?" Harry suggested. Literally anything would be better than to sit for hours in silence.  
"Yeah, sounds 'kay," said Ron as he lazily pulled his body off the back of the seat and to the attention of Harry who had just savaged a deck of cards from his luggage.  
"You wanna play?" Harry asked Neville as he shuffled the deck.  
"Actually I, uh… I was wondering if any of you guys saw Luna aboard the train. I was thinking about going to see her for a bit."  
"Aww, Neville's in _love_ ," Ron teased playfully as Harry snickered.  
"I saw her down the bottom of the train earlier," said Hermione, placing her book down next to her with a noticeable thud.  
"Thanks," said Neville as he got to his feet. As Neville left the compartment Hermione slapped the giggling boys on the arm.

The long corridor of the train was always a busy nightmare. It was always full of students crowding the area having loud conversations and excited first year students wizzing from compartment to compartment talking to each other and making friends. It's lucky that Neville was no longer that snivelling, chubby and weak little first year any more. He was now a tall and more broad man than he used to be which is much to be expected he led Dumbledore's Army and destroyed the last horcrux. Getting down to the end of the train was a walk in the park nowadays. Students would see him and move out of the way to let him pass. He still wasn't quite used to the high level of respect he was shown but he did rather enjoy it - maybe a little more than he should.

Looking through the door windows from compartment to compartment Neville finally spotted Luna and pulled open the door.  
"Luna!" he greeted hastily before noticing the other man. Luna Lovegood was sitting quite joyfully with Draco Malfoy eating sweets from the trolley together. Neville froze, unsure if he could believe his eyes.  
"Hello, Neville!" said Luna merrily, returning the greeting while taking a bite out of a chocolate frog. She'd already made it through a box and a half of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Draco similarly was chewing on a Jelly Slug sat opposite from Luna. Draco had shot Neville a glare as he barged in but chose to stay quiet and ignore Neville's existence. When Luna spoke, Neville jolted out of his trance of disbelief and turned his attention to Luna.  
"Would you like a frog?" Luna asked gesturing to the packets she had next to her. Neville blinked, unsure what to say regarding the whole situation.  
"Uh," he panicked, "A...Actually I forgot I have to do something," he blurted out messily as he turned away quickly and paced up the corridor to the compartment he was in before. Draco couldn't help but snigger to himself as Luna sat confused before shrugging it off.

Neville burst into the compartment similar to how he had done moments before and fell back into his seat slightly red faced. They all looked to Neville in confusion and curiosity. Hermione, who had joined in the card game while Neville was gone, was the one who asked Neville what had happened.  
"You'd never guess who Luna is with right now!" Neville said, panting for breath. The trio looked to each other and then back to Neville.  
"Who?" Harry asked eventually. Neville leaned closer to the trio as if it were some major secret.  
" _Draco Malfoy,_ " Neville whispered, only to jump at Ron's sudden reaction.  
"Draco Malfoy?!" he yelled, furrowing his eyebrows, "What does he think he's playing at?" Harry and Hermione couldn't help but share the feeling of concern.  
"That's the thing!" Neville exclaimed, "They looked like they were... _friends!_ "


	2. New Year, New Start

CHAPTER TWO

New Year, New Start

Upon their arrival at Hogsmead Station that evening they all grouped together and were escorted up to Hogwarts Castle. Despite Neville's earlier assumptions about Luna and Draco, they could hardly be considered 'friends'. Luna had soon wandered off to her fellow Ravenclaw housemates and Draco, as he had expected, was avoided like plague.

The castle's silhouette stood tall against the moonlit sky. The light from inside the castle gleamed through the stained glass windows. As breath taking as the scene was, students could just about make out the outlines of some of the wreckage that hadn't been dealt with as of yet. They couldn't help but feel their hearts sink at the very thought of it.

Hordes of students entered the Great Hall and the loud chatter echoed creating an atmosphere of joy and excitement. Eventually everybody sat down at the long mahogany tables of their respective houses. The tables appeared to be less full than they had been in previous years and everyone knew why, but they decided it best not to mention it. There was also a noticeable shortage of teachers, too. Draco sat idly at the end of Slytherin table hoping the evening would hurry up and end so he could just shut off and go to sleep.

Marching down the hall was the new headmistress Minerva McGonagall who stood up by the podium and cleared her throat.  
"Attention!" she spoke loudly in order to settle down the students so they could begin. McGonagall gestured toward the great large doors at the entrance of the hall and they swung open with a creak. Small and apprehensive first year students shuffled along behind the caretaker, Argus Filch, who led them up to the front of the hall. Filch scurried off to the side and returned with an old wooden stool and a worn and battered pointed hat.  
"The sorting ceremony will now begin momentarily," McGonagall announced, taking the tatty hat from Argus Filch.  
"Hogwarts was founded by four of the greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Each of the four houses are named by the founders and you will be sorted into those houses soon. During your time at Hogwarts your houses will be like your family, but we encourage students the make friends regardless of houses. When I call your name, please come up to the front and be seated on the stool next to me."

All the older students were used to it by now as it was the same routine year after year but most found themselves curious as to which of the new young witches and wizards will be sorted into their house. Roars of cheers and applause could be heard from table to table as they each gained a new housemate. Draco, however, didn't react. He sat still staring nonchalantly at the dark brown ripples of the wood on the table. He drowned out the sound of all of the rambunctious teenagers and sat in silence.

Once all the new students had been seated and greeted, Professor McGonagall called for everyone's attention once again in order to give out all the start of term notices. After all was said and done, food suddenly appeared on the tables for the feast and gasps of surprise chorused through the halls. It was one thing the older students would never get tired of.

Draco's eyes scanned the contents of the table to decide what to eat but soon decided that he didn't have much of an appetite. During the past year or so Draco found it next to impossible to regularly do basic things like eating enough and sleeping properly due to the horrifying things he'd been exposed to. Glancing around at the other students, Draco made the deduction that there were a few students who felt the same despite their circumstances being different.

A few tables across sat the Gryffindors. Ron was chowing down on some chicken legs messily as if he hadn't eaten for days. Hermione couldn't help but laugh to herself despite telling him to slow down and "have some manners". The redheaded boy teased by making kissy faces at her from across the table whilst his mouth was full of chewed food.  
"You are absolutely disgusting, Ronald!" she giggled. Grinning, she shook her head and handed him a napkin. Harry, on the other hand, was peering around the hall. He had suddenly remembered about what Neville had said on the train earlier that evening. Harry couldn't believe what he had been told.  
But there he was.  
Why would Draco come back here? Didn't he hate Hogwarts? He was a Death Eater, after all. Just then, Harry sighed and thought it best not to think much about it. It wasn't like Malfoy was causing any trouble. In fact, Draco hadn't even approached him yet like in their previous years. The fair haired boy just sat uncomfortably at the end of Slytherin table away from any direct contact from his fellow housemates.

The Hogwarts ghosts soon flooded the hall to greet the pupils and welcome them back to school. There were a lot more ghosts than Draco could remember. The disturbing fact was that there were a lot of familiar faces and that realisation caused his stomach to turn. The feast that night became a rather emotional one as students were reunited with family and friends who had perished during the Battle of Hogwarts. Malfoy couldn't help but for some reason feel as though all of their deaths were his fault.

Draco felt a flush of relief as the feast ended because that meant he didn't have to face anyone until the following day. Hastily, he rose to his feet and paced out of the Great Hall hoping his feet would lead him to the Slytherin common room. He didn't pay too much attention to where he walking. All he knew was that _he needed to leave_. He lost his footing a few times on the staircases but eventually found himself at the Slytherin common room. Without much time for thought he strode up the stairs to the dormitory and went to bed in hope that everyone would just forget he was there and leave him be.

* * *

The following day each of the students were given their timetables at breakfast. No one was expected to start their classes that day as it was a Friday and it seemed more logical to start the term the Monday - much to Draco's disappointment. It was irritating to think that he had to waste three days doing absolutely nothing and try to ignore the other students who most likely would give him grief when he could just slip under the radar and get on with class work. It wasn't too bad though, he assured himself. At least he got to start the term with double transfiguration (in which he was particularly skilled at). It meant that he could stay in one class for two hours and focus on his classwork instead of having to move from class to class in between and could avoid any potential conflicts with passing students. Draco had eaten half a slice of toast before deciding he'd had enough and took his glass of water with him to drink in the library.

It was a rather warm day that day. The autumn chill hadn't quite kicked in yet. Many students hung around outside in the courtyards a decided to use their time to catch up and hang out with friends. A few of the athletes decided to use their time to practise quidditch - even having a few friendly matches with the other house teams. Some of the older students were seen giving their first year housemates tours around the school and giving them tips. Although, they had to reassure the new students that the worst is over and that they were completely safe at Hogwarts after seeing many students' ghosts casually walking down the hallways in packs.

Draco entered the library and placed his glass down upon one of the tables near the back and began browsing the shelves. One thing Draco loved about libraries was that most people his age found they'd rather not spend their free time hanging out in a library which meant that he could just be left in peace. Eventually, he sat down on the floor with a novel and began to read. He had considered reading a book about alchemy but he decided he wasn't quite in the mood for anything academic.

A few hours passed and he reached near the middle of the book. Draco was quite a fast reader especially as there's not much to do back at the manor so he spent a lot of time in the personal library. In recent months especially Draco had pretty much taken refuge in that library as he still found it rather unsettling living in the manor.

"What are you reading there, Draco?"

A familiar voice had disturbed the pleasant quietness. Her sudden appearance before him frightened the boy slightly, jerking in his place and slamming the book shut. It's that _Luny Luna_ again. Draco frowned as he looked at her.  
"That's nothing of your concern," he hissed. She placed herself down on the wooden flooring next to where Draco was sitting and peered down at the book he was holding. Draco sharply moved the book away in attempt to make sure she didn't look but his efforts were in vain.  
"' _Warlock and the Wisp'?_ I've read that one before. Wisps are very interesting creatures, you know. They say that wisps lead travellers to-"  
" _I get it,"_ Malfoy groaned, cutting Luna off before she may accidentally spoil the ending of the book. Draco was familiar with wisps either way. He had stumbled across them whilst reading about magical creatures one day whilst studying. Wisps lead stranded travellers to their doom. Draco picked up the novel in hope that it wouldn't just have some cliché ending where the traveller just 'died' like you'd expect. But also it was an easy way to pass the time.

"Why are you here?" Draco glared at Luna.  
"It's lunchtime! People are gathering in the Great Hall to eat!"  
"I hope you're not expecting us to eat together. We may have had a civil exchange on the train but don't go getting the wrong idea."  
Luna rose to her feet and forced a smile, although she couldn't quite shake the irritation at Draco's bitterness. She knew that her constant positivity clearly wasn't going anywhere and decided to take an alternative approach.  
"You're quite set on being alone, aren't you?" Draco wanted to argue back, but chose to let her continue instead. "I'm not going to pretend that I like you, but I do believe you don't have to be alone if you don't wish to be. We've all been through a lot of hardship and pain. And it's not like people are queuing up to be your friend. I'm willing to give you a second chance, but only if you want to," Luna concluded bluntly, though feeling as if she may had seemed a bit ruder than she intended.

Of course, Draco gave a defensive look towards the Ravenclaw but soon his face grew less tense and more into an expression of contemplation. He diverted his eyes to the ground and genuinely thought about what she had said. _She was right._ No one wanted to be near him let alone consider becoming his friend. Was to be alone really what he wanted? Sure, he was used to it but he didn't necessarily enjoy it as much as wanted himself to believe. Although the worst was over, he couldn't help but feel _empty_ as though a huge part of him was ripped from his very being and left to die in the shadows of his past. Through that difficult time he had no one to confide in, no one to listen to his cries for help and no one to genuinely care for his well-being. Draco sighed at this realisation and thought, ' _Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe… Maybe I don't have to be alone.'_ Before he could become conflicted in whether or not he even deserved any form of kindness, he slowly stood up and exhaled heavily. He had already survived hell; he didn't have much to lose.  
"Fine. I shall accept your offer. I was feeling rather peckish anyway," he agreed, sure not to shift his tone so he didn't show any remote signs of weakness. Luna's grin softened to be more sincere. She clasped his arm and hurried off to the Great Hall, and much to Draco's annoyance, leaving behind the novel misplaced on the ground where they were sitting.

* * *

The hall was busy with hungry teenagers upon their arrival. Luna insisted Draco sit with her at the Gryffindor table next to Ginny (who looked to Draco disapprovingly). There were no rules against it as it wasn't a formal occasion but it was still rather out of his comfort zone. However, he obliged. There were whispers and chatter along the table - some of which from Ron, Harry and Hermione who sat not far along from the odd trio.

"What the hell does that Malfoy think he's doing sitting here!" Ron exclaimed aggressively to his peers, "And he's sitting with Luna and my sister! I tell ya', Luna's finally lost it letting him be around her. I hope Ginny doesn't get all friendly with him too."  
"Well there ought to be a reason, don't you think? Luna's not stupid, you know. She wouldn't be around him if she didn't think he was worth the time," Hermione replied, eyebrows furrowed. "Though, I have to admit it does seem rather suspicious."

Harry observed Draco from a distance unsure what to make of this. He _looked_ as though he was getting on fine with Luna. And he wasn't particularly hostile towards Ginny either despite the obvious tension and mutual dislike. It was like looking at a whole other person. As much as Harry wished to loathe his very existence, he couldn't help but empathise with him. The war didn't just cause a lot of damage physically, but also emotionally to those involved. He just looked so _defeated_ \- a boy who once ruled himself above everyone else and always held himself so proudly. Maybe he really had changed. Maybe he -

"Maybe this is all just a joke he's playing on poor Luna. As if keeping her in his basement wasn't enough."  
"I seriously doubt it, Ron," Harry opposed, taking the words right out of Hermione's mouth.  
"Harry's right. Draco's not the same person he used to be. In fact, it would be foolish to think anyone could come out of a war without any damage being done."  
"Then what do you suppose it be then? You said yourself it's suspicious. You're right in saying he wouldn't be the same but that doesn't magically make him a good person, yanno."  
"I don't know," Hermione admitted, "I guess suspicious was the wrong word to use. What I was trying to say is that it seems kind of…" she looked to Harry for the right word to say.  
"...Odd, I guess," Harry finished. Ron shrugged and stabbed his fork into a bit of sausage he had just cut,  
"'Suppose," he said before shoving the meat into his mouth, chewing, then swallowing, "He better not cause any trouble though 'cause I ain't havin' it this year."


End file.
